Loan Mod Process

This is a quick overview of some of the things you need to know if you want to work out a mortgage loan modification with your lender. If you are able to come to an agreement, you may be able to use this to keep your home and stop it from going through foreclosure.

There is one thing you should keep in mind before you start negotiating with your lender for a loan modification. The people you will be talking to have a job to do, and that job is to get you to agree to pay as much as possible so that the bank makes the best deal for itself. Nothing you say to the loss mitigation employee is confidential. It can and will be used against you, so watch what you say.

Before you even start negotiating, you need to gather up all of your financial records. That includes proof of income for at least the past month or two, all of your paid and unpaid bills and two or three years of income tax returns. You need to be able to document both your income and expenses thoroughly.

Everything the mortgage company mails you needs to be kept in a file. That includes regular statements as well as anything related to the negotiations you are trying to do. Keep even the envelopes. You may need to prove the date something was mailed. Also keep copies of anything you send the bank, and send it certified mail. Record all of your phone calls. Sometimes the lender will try to change the agreement on you, so you need to have proof of everything that has been done.

Don’t spend your mortgage payments. Just because you are not paying the payment on the house right now doesn’t mean it’s all right to use the money to pay other debts or worse, to blow on things you don’t need. Your lender will expect you to have some money to pay them as soon as you come to an agreement. Save the money so that you are ready when the time comes.

Most important of all, don’t make an agreement that doesn’t work for you. The bank will often make you an offer that actually increases your payment amount for a period of time to get you current, and then goes back to the normal payment amount. Unless you have gotten a raise since you started having trouble making ends meet, this is obviously not going to work. Keep at it until you get something that will work for you, and be prepared to walk away if no agreement can be made. Foreclosure is not the end of the world, and you may even find yourself better off if you can get yourself into a cheaper home with management rent or payments.

As many as 6 million families are expected to face foreclosure in the next several years. Janian Los Angeles

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